Power output rises

Sri Lanka’s power output rose 8.9 percent in the first half of 2010 from a year earlier, in a more active economy. Official data showed that larger volumes of cheaper hydro energy had been generated.

The Ceylon Electricity Board had generated 5,215 GigaWatt hours of energy in the six months to June. Hydro generation was up 47.6 percent to 1,897 GWh. However, thermal energy was down 26 percent to 870GWh. Private sector power was up 3.4 percent to 2,401GWh.

In the month of June alone energy output rose 9.9 percent to 900 GWh, with the Electricity Board’s thermal generation down 37 percent to 92GWh and hydro up 34 percent to 386GWh. Private sector power was down to 7.5 percent to 414GWh. Last year Sri Lanka’s power output contracted amid an economic slump, though official estimates claimed positive gross domestic growth during all quarters.